Abel d



A.D.'TY LER,Jr. LAST.

No. 601,621. ja W4 d Patented Mar. 29, 1898.

UNITED STATES PATENT lFFlCEt ABEL D. TYLER, JE., OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TC SAMUEL MAWVHINNEY, OF SAME PLACE.

LAST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 601,621, dated March 29, 1898.

Application filed October 25, 1892.

T aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABEL D. TYLER, Jr., a

I citizen of the United States, and a resident of Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have inventeda new and useful Improvement in Lasts, of which the following is a specification, accompanied by drawings forming a part of the same and representing a last embodying my invention, and in which Figure 1 represents a side view of my improved last. Fig. 2 is a top view. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3 3, Fig. 2, with the position of the heel-section when raised represented by broken lines.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in the different figures.

The object of my invention is to produce a last for use in the manufacture, display, and keeping in shape of boots and shoes; and lasts in which my invention is embodied comprise a solid-bottomed fore part and a solidbottomed heel part articulated or in any other wise hinged together, first, to admit of a relative movement that shortens the'last when the heel part is moved upwardly out of working position in alinement with the fore part, and, second, to enable the operator to withdraw both fore part and heel part by shortening the last and pulling thereon to thereby pull out the united heel part and fore part, the necessary location of the articulation or hinge being determined as hereinafter set forth. It is practically necessary that the fore part and heel part should not separate and become disconnected, but, on the contrary, should be hinged together, so that the last shortens when the heel part is raised in order not to distort or tear the heel portion of the shoe from which the last is removed and in order that a pull on the heel part is, through the medium of the hinge, communicated to the fore part and the entire last be removed by a single pull. Where a transversely-divided last is made up of unconnected parts, much time is lost in pulling out the parts one at atime, and the parts are liable to become lost or mismatched.

My new lasts contain contacting parts called reciprocal bearing-surfaces, contact whereof prevents the fore part and heel part Serial No. 449,962. (No model.)

from approaching bottomward after the heel part is moved into alinement or working position with the fore part.

If the pivotal connection or hinge be not properly located, the last will collapse during the lasting operation and break down during the leveling or beating-out operation and distort the shoe. The upper of shoes has a tendency to contract, and where thehinge is in the bottom portion of the last the last will collapse as the upper contracts and also break down in the lasting and other operations.

In the drawings illustrating the principle of my invention and. the best mode now known to me of applying that principle, A is the fore part,and B the heel part,of my new articulated last, the parts being produced by dividing the last transversely from top to bottom on any desired line or at any desired point.

In the. particular construction shown fore part A is provided with a longitudinal slit or groove C, extending inwardly from the rear or inner end of the fore part and open on the inner end of the fore part, as shown in Fig. 3. The fore part is practically solid-bottomed, as it is not open but solid at the marginal portions of its bottom, and is therefore adapted for the lasting operations instead of for use as a mere filler-last. The articulation, joint, or hinge comprises in this form of my invention. a plate or tongue D, which is inserted in and attached to the heel part B by transverse pins D. Tongue D is preferably formed of a single plate bent upon itself,with a circular eye D to form a bushing for the hole in the heel part intended to receive the bench or other like pin when a pin is used. The tongue D extends forward within the slit or groove C and is pivoted to the fore part A by a fixed pivot D the form of the slit allowing the heel-section B to be moved upwardly (as shown in dotted line B in Fig. 3) out of its working or operative position in alinement with the fore part, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. When the last is inserted in a boot or shoe, the fore part and heel part are in alinement, as shown in Fig. 1 and by the full lines in Fig. 3.

As lasts are commonly forced into the shoes so as to fit snugly therein and make the upper conform to the lines of the last, it some and the bottom of the last.

times happens that owing to the inelasticity of the upper leather the distance between the inner walls of the heel and toe of the shoe is not quite suflicient to accommodate the last freely when it is forced home, so that there is a tendency in the hinged last to collapse, as well as to distort the heel portions of the upper and when the heel part is lifted even tear out the backstays. The fixed pivot D must be so located as to permit the last to shorten when the heel part is swung upwardly. It is also important in order to prevent crippling the last from the force above noted, and more especially crippling and destruction of the last in various steps taken in the manufacture of shoes on these lasts involving pressures of many hundred pounds, to locate the pivot considerably above the bottom of the last, so as to produce broad reciprocal bearingsurfaces at the opposed ends of the fore part and heel part'between the top These reciprocal bearing-surfaces contact one with the other when the fore part and heel part are in alinement or working position and give strength and solidity to the last when it is in use.

When ordinary non-articulated lasts-that is, lasts having integral fore parts and heel parts-are inserted and removed from shoes, especially if the upper is wet or damp, as is frequently the case when they are in process of manufacture, the heel part presses 011 the counter and heel portions of the shoes and distorts them. This distortion is a serious evil among manufacturers. To obviate this objection, my new last is made to shorten longitudinally when the heel part is moved upwardly from alinement' or working position with the fore part. This longitudinal shortening of the last is readily obtained by the use of a great variety of joints, whereby the fore part and heel part are operatively connected and of which the tongue D is a convenient and simple example. If the hingepivot be too far toward the crown or top portion of the last, the last will lengthen when the heel part is swung upward for removal,

and if it lengthens the rear portion of the heel part distorts the upper and frequently rips out the backstays. The proper location of the pivot, in order to obviate all these objections prevailing prior to this invention, presents a problem that, though apparently simple, is much complicated by the greatvariety of contours given to lasts to meet trade requirements as well as by the fact that the upper (below the horizontal portion of the foot-opening of the usual high shoes tapers upwardly and inwardly from the junction of the upper parts with the heel portion of the shoe, so that when the heel part of the last is swung upwardly for removal of the last the largest partfof the heel partthat is, the tread-surface and portion just above ithas to move upwardly into and through the smaller ankle-space. Consequently it is necessary to locate thehinge-pivot so that during the last portion of the upward movement of the heel part the latter will not bind on the back portions of the heel and-ankle parts of the shoe.

To determine the proper location of the pivot, so as to produce a transversely-divided hinged last, which, whatever its size or style, (contour,) obviates the objections to this class of lasts as made prior to this invention, I strike three circles of equal diameter, one from the upper rear corner of the last, so as to pass through the fore part, a second from the middle point of the extreme rear line of the heel part, and a third from the lower rear corner of the heel part. These circles will intersect between the top and bottom of the last far enough above the bottom of the last to produce broad contacting surfaces of the heel part and fore part, which extend across the whole width of the last and are below the pivot, the pivot being located just below the lower intersection of two of the circles, if all three circles do not intersect at one point. The radius of these circles may be of any desired length that will keep the pivot between the extremities of the fore part.

By reference to Fig. 1 the reason of the rule for locating the pivot will be apparent. f f represent a portion of a circle struck from the upper rear corner f of the heel part as a center. f f represent a portion of a circle struck from the middle point f of the rear line of the heel part as a center, and f f represent a portion of a circle struck from the lower rear corner f as a center. Lines f f and f f intersect at f, and lines ff and f f intersect at f the latter being the lowermost intersection, If the pivot D were located at this lowermost intersection J, the last would actually shorten if the heel part were moved upwardly, but the shortening would not be sufficient to allowthe wider tread and immediate adjacent side portions of the heel part to swing freely through and out of the more restricted ankle-space of the shoe. Therefore I mount the pivot a little below this lowermost intersection f. The reciprocal bearing-surfaces a I) extend transversely across the last from side to side thereof between the top and bottom of the last. The reciprocal bearing-surfaces ct b, which contact when the heel part is in working position or down in alinement with the fore part, prevent the fore part and heel part from collapsing or approaehin g eachother bottomward, and so possess the functions of stop members. It is often desirable to form these bearings and stop-surfaces a b of greater or lesser superficial area than shown in my drawings; and these surfaces may be increased or diminished in area, as desired, without departure from my invention. In the present form of my invention I provide an auxiliary stop above the stop and bearing surfaces at b by an offset 0 d at the rear end of the fore part, the opposed surface of the heel part being formed with a corresponding offset that engages offsetc cl when IIO the fore part and heel part are in working position. It will be seen that the function of this auxiliary stop is to connect the fore part and heel part, and so give increased power to the last when subjected to pressures; but this auxiliary stop may be omitted, if desired, for all requisite strength to resist collapsing pressures is obtained by the reciprocal bearing and stop surfaces a, Z), extending from side to side of the last; or, if so desired, the reciprocal bearing and stop surfaces ca 6 may be omitted and the auxiliary stop, or its equivalent, be employed to prevent the fore part and heel part from collapsing or approaching each other bottomward after being brought into alinement, as when the heel part is moved down into place after the fore part has been inserted in the shoes. In other words, any means may be employed, without departure from my invention, to prevent an articulated fore part and heel part from approaching each other bottomward after the fore part and heel part are brought into alinement or working position; and the ways and means of effecting this are very numerous, as will be plain to all mechanics.

In that form of my invention shown in the drawings the upward movement of the heel part into the position indicated by the broken line B is arrested by contact of tongue D with the body of the last D; but this is not an essential feature of my invention- But in the invention shown the lower portion is bounded by the curve a b, tangential to the vertical line E at right angles with the line E.

In the form of last shown the offset 17 c is made and the are 0 dis formed concentric with the are a b, but with a radius reduced by the offset 1) c. The forward end of the heel partis made at b to correspond with the curved seat formed at a upon the rear of the fore part, so that the opposing surfaces of the fore part and heel part will be brought into contact when the heel part is lowered into its operative position, as represented in Fig. 3, thereby forming a very solid seat, with the offset 1) 0 serving as a position-stop to hold the bottom surface of the fore part and heel part in alinement. The heel part B, being pivoted a short distance above the center E, will cause the two surfaces of the two parts in contact to be slightly separated as the heel part is raised into the position shown in Fig. 2, and as the path of the heel part in being raised is a circle tangential to a vertical line E erected upon the base-line E the last will be shortened horizontally by the raising of the heel part. Eye of pin-hole D in the upper face of the heel part receives a pin by which the heel part is lifted upwardly and outwardly for removal from the shoe. When the pin is inserted in eye D it does not connect or lock the fore part and heel part together, as is the case with another construction known to me.

The above-described arrangement of the parts by which the horizontal shortening of the last is secured permits the last to be withdrawn from ,the boot by the raising of the heel part and rearward movement of the fore part the distance due to the horizontal shortening of the last, thereby enabling the fore part to be loosened and withdrawn and avoiding the bending of the shank or distortion of the boot.

I pivot heel part eccentrically, so the surfaces will not only clear each other as the heel part is raised, but will approach and be crowded against each other as the heel part is lowered, so as to form a mutual support independently of the offset 1) c, which serves as a positive stop after the opposing surfaces of sections have been pressed together. The base-line E extends from the-bottom of the toe rearward and is in contact with the bottom of the heel part and right angles with the vertical line E representing the inside of the counter, and the axis of the pivotal pin D is brought so near the line E that the circular path of the heel part as it is raised will be substantially tangential to a vertical line erected on the center line E, and the last thereby shortened horizontally as soon as it is raised.

When the heel part is started upwardly from its lowermost or working position, (see Fig. 3,) the front surfaces of the heel part are immediately carried out of contact with the rear surfaces of the fore part, so that there is practically no friction between these parts to be overcome by the operator in pull ing the heel part upwardly and forwardly, and so that there is no liability of undue binding of these bearing-surfaces, due to any swelling of the fore part and heel part, occasioned by moisture in the air or by use of the lasts in lasting wet or damp boots or shoes. The facts that the front or bearing surface of the forepart moves away from the opposed bearing-surface of the fore part alongthe line from a to b and that the said surfaces are never in contact from b c to d after the heel part is started upwardly and forwardly render my new lasts capable of easy and instant removal without any deforming strain on the upper when the heel part is first started upwardly, and as the last shortens as the heel part is swung upwardly no deforming action of the last on the shaped upper occurs.

What I claim is- 1. In a transversely divided last, the combination of a fore part provided with aslit or groove and a heel part pivotally connected with said fore part, the rear end of said fore part and the front end of said heel part in contact with said fore part being curved eccentrically to the axis of said pivoted heel part whereby said parts are separated as the heel part is raised, substantially as described.

2. In a transversely-divided last, the combination of the fore part, provided with a slit or groove to receive a tongue, a heel part provided with a tongue pivotally connected with Y said fore part, said fore part having an offset that extends across it, between its sides and upwardly from its bottom; said end surfaces contacting When the fore part and heel part I5 are in alinelnent, and separating as the heel part is swung upward and forward, the last being then and thereby shortened.

Dated this 22d day of October, 1892.

ABEL D. TYLER, JR.

Witnesses:

RUFUS B. FOWLER, EMMA KESTER. 

